Childhood Obesity News and Research

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Exposure to Manga comics promotes fruit intake and healthy snack selection

A recent pilot study in Brooklyn, New York, with minority students found that exposure to Manga comics (Japanese comic art) promoting fruit intake significantly improved healthy snack selection. As snacking accounts for up to 27% of children's daily caloric intake, and childhood obesity has been linked to inadequate intake of fruits and vegetables, the results of this study could have wide-reaching implications.

11 Feb 2014

$Children diagnosed with obesity more likely to sustain complex fractures$

Children diagnosed with obesity more likely to sustain complex fractures

Pediatric obesity is currently an epidemic, with the prevalence having quadruped over the last 25 years. Children diagnosed with obesity can be at risk for various long-term health issues and may be putting their musculoskeletal system at risk. According to new research in the February issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, obese children who sustain a supracondylar humeral (above the elbow) fracture can be expected to have more complex fractures and experience more postoperative complications than children of a normal weight.

10 Feb 2014

Study shows decline in obesity rate among low-income pre-school children

In his 2014 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama referred to an August 2013 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study that showed a decline in the obesity rate among low-income pre-school children, saying, "Michelle's Let's Move! partnership with schools, businesses and local leaders has helped bring down childhood obesity rates for the first time in 30 years, and that's an achievement that will improve lives and reduce health care costs for decades to come."

6 Feb 2014

Meta-analysis study says more than half of parents do not recognize that their child is overweight

In the idyllic town of Lake Wobegon, all the children are above average.

5 Feb 2014

Study analyzing concussion data for NFL players may provide insight that could lead to safer play

A new study analyzing concussion data for NFL players during the16-game regular season schedules for 2012 and 2013 may provide insight that could lead to safer play, including a pathway for concussion-prevention strategies.

4 Feb 2014

Overweight kindergarten kids may become obese teenagers

The risk of children growing up into obese teenagers may be influenced by whether or not they were overweight as early on as 5 years old, report U.S. researchers.

30 Jan 2014

Obese kids exposed to high levels of air pollutants are nearly 3 times as likely to have asthma

Obese children exposed to high levels of air pollutants were nearly three times as likely to have asthma, compared with non-obese children and lower levels of pollution exposure, report researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC).

23 Jan 2014

Broader public health strategies needed to tackle childhood obesity, say health researchers

Public health researchers from The University of Manchester have found single dietary interventions are not effective at increasing fruit and vegetable consumption among overweight children and will not halt the global epidemic in childhood obesity.

From The University of Manchester 20 Jan 2014

Study: Children who eat more fast food are not likely to become obese

For several years, many have been quick to attribute rising fast-food consumption as the major factor causing rapid increases in childhood obesity. Now researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill report that fast-food consumption is simply a byproduct of a much bigger problem: poor all-day-long dietary habits that originate in children's homes.

16 Jan 2014

Study identifies 3 most significant risk factors for child obesity among preschoolers

A University of Illinois study has identified the three most significant risk factors for child obesity among preschoolers: (1) inadequate sleep, (2) a parental BMI that classifies the mom or dad as overweight or obese, and (3) parental restriction of a child's eating in order to control his weight.

15 Jan 2014

PCORI awards $93.5M to patient-powered research networks to boost efficiency of health research

A network of children's hospitals, data partners, and specialty networks led by The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was recently approved for an award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to develop and expand its work as part of PCORnet: the National Patient-Centered National Clinical Research Network.

28 Dec 2013

Nutritional value of food advertised on children's TV programs is worse, shows study

The nutritional value of food and drinks advertised on children's television programs is worse than food shown in ads during general air time, according to University of Illinois at Chicago researchers.

17 Dec 2013

Campbell Healthy Communities Programs continue to build healthier life for Camden residents

Campbell Soup Company (NYSE:CPB) continues to advance its efforts to measurably improve the health of young people in its hometown of Camden.

11 Dec 2013

Scientists study genetic, social and dietary factors influencing child obesity

Childhood obesity has more than doubled in the past 30 years. Now, an extensive and long-term research project aims at identifying the causes of this dramatic increase. In a study including 16.000 children from across Europe and spanning over several years, scientists are now trying to determine possible genetic and social factors influencing obesity in children.

11 Dec 2013

Study links genetic predisposition to childhood obesity

Research has suggested that a particular gene in the brain's reward system contributes to overeating and obesity in adults. This same variant has now been linked to childhood obesity and tasty food choices, particularly for girls, according to a new study by Dr. Patricia Silveira and Prof. Michael Meaney of McGill University and Dr. Robert Levitan of the University of Toronto.

27 Nov 2013

Longer looks: Parents' crusade on rare diseases; fighting obesity; experts' view of alternative medicine

In the beginning, Chris Hempel noticed the clumsiness. Her girls tripped over toys on the floor. Their grandfather said he couldn't teach them to pedal their tricycles. … The Hempels learned of people who called themselves citizen-scientists. Many shared research papers and their day-to-day experience. Some talked of their willingness to try any promising drug. Others sought a role as equal partners with researchers. Scientists, while sympathetic, generally believe their work should be left to experts. Families are encouraged to raise money if they want to help, but the traditional view is that amateurs can't shape research or find cures. The Hempels found a maddening gap between the search for scientific knowledge and the search for treatments (Amy Docker Marcus, 11/2013).

22 Nov 2013

Smaller bowl sizes may be next weapon in battle against childhood obesity

Smaller bowl sizes may be the next weapon in the battle against childhood obesity, says a new Cornell study published this week in the Journal of Pediatrics which found children not only ask for more food to fill larger bowls, but they also eat 52 percent more.

20 Nov 2013

Kids' cardiovascular fitness declines around the globe, shows study

Many kids don't run as far or fast as their parents did, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2013.

20 Nov 2013

When schools adopt healthful nutrition policies and practices, kids' diets improve

When schools adopt healthful nutrition policies and practices, kids' diets improve. According to new research led by Michigan State University and published in the current issue of Childhood Obesity, when schools offered snacks in lunchtime a la carte or vending that were mostly or entirely healthful, students responded with improvements in their diets, said Katherine Alaimo, MSU associate professor of food, science and human nutrition.

15 Nov 2013

Aerobic exercise may be superior to resistance exercise for obese teen girls

Obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the United States in the past 30 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The growing rate of childhood obesity is a major health concern since overweight and obese youth are at increased risk of developing several diseases once considered reserved for adults. These new pediatric diseases include type-2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, a condition in which fat builds up in the liver, potentially impairing its function over time.

8 Nov 2013